It wasn’t a full on press or constant trapping.
For the majority it was Covington Catholic guarding Dixie Heights mono e mono with the blue and white Colonels (CovCath) locking down the red and white Colonels (Dixie).
Covington Catholic stifled Dixie Heights and came away with a 75-36 victory in the St. Elizabeth Healthcare 9th Region tournament quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Truist Arena.
CovCath forced 23 turnovers compared to committing just three and won the points off turnover battle, 26-0.
“They’re the fastest team that we’ve certainly seen all year,” Dixie Heights coach Scott Code said. “They might be the fastest damn team I’ve ever had to go against. They’re as quick as a Northern Kentucky team that I can recall in the last decade.”
For eight minutes, it looked as if Dixie was going to be in this one, trailing 15-12 after one. CovCath opened the second quarter with a 6-0 spurt and that was pretty much all she wrote. Dixie got within five on two separate occasions in the quarter, but a 10-2 run to close out the half gave CovCath a 33-20 lead at the break.
They stretched the lead to 29 by the end of the third and got the game to a running clock with 3:52 left in the game on a Luke Carroll 3-pointer.
“Our whole key is we just wanted to dictate the pace of the game,” Covington Catholic coach Jake Thelen said. “We played fast and we were aggressive defensively.”
Cash Harney led the way with 20 points, Athens McGillis pitched in 13 and Donovan Bradshaw posted yet another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. CovCath shot 52% from the field and knocked down 10 three-pointers. They collected 20 steals, Harney, McGillis and Teegan Stava with four each. Bradshaw and Nolan Ruthsatz with three each.
“We guard the ball, have guys with great basketball instincts. They’re physical, strong and aggressive and when we see a loose ball out there we just go get it,” Thelen said.
Dixie was led by Hunter Seng with 10 points and six rebounds, Griffen Derry adding nine, Tyson Metzger with seven and Max Rubemeyer six. They close out their first season under Code with a 21-10 record and will graduate four seniors, Derry and Owen Nieheus as starters.
“Extremely pleased with the season. We’ve got great group of kids,” Code said. “As an assistant here I wouldn’t have taken the job if it wasn’t for the high character kids we have in our program. Even though we’re losing four amazing seniors, we’ve got a lot of great kids coming back. We just have to develop them.”
Covington Catholic advances to Tuesday’s semifinals to face Cooper, a team that’s ended their season the past two years in the same round.
“They’re physical, they’re big,” Thelen said. “We just have to use this college court to our advantage, be strong with the basketball and make layups and shots at the rim and keep defending like we’ve been doing.”
Tip is set for 6:30 p.m., back at Truist Arena.
COVCATH 75, DIXIE HEIGHTS 36
DIXIE HEIGHTS — 12-8-10-6 — 36
COVINGTON CATHOLIC — 15-18-26-16 — 75
Scoring
Dixie (36) — Seng 10, Derry 9, Metzger 7, Rubemeyer 6, Nieheus 2, Grieme 2
CovCath (75) — Harney 20, McGillis 13, Bradshaw 12, Gaiser 7, Stava 5, Ruthsatz 5, Lanham 4, Kruer 3, Whelan 3, Carroll 3
Game Stats
Field Goals: Dixie 15/35, CovCath 32/61
3-Pointers: Dixie 2/10, CovCath 10/24
Free Throws: Dixie 4/4, CovCath 1/5
Rebounds: Dixie 24, CovCath 27
Assists: Dixie 9, CovCath 25
Steals: Dixie 2, CovCath 20
Blocked Shots: Dixie 1, CovCath 2
Turnovers: Dixie 23, CovCath 3
Records: Dixie Heights 21-10, Covington Catholic 24-8